diff --git a/.github/workflows/ci.yml b/.github/workflows/ci.yml
index be7d818..f7de8cb 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/ci.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/ci.yml
@@ -57,7 +57,7 @@ jobs:
       # .pre-commit-config.yaml — a floating ruff can promote rules and redden CI.
       # Keep this in lockstep with the pre-commit rev and pyproject's `dev` extra.
       - name: Install dev tools
-        run: python -m pip install "ruff==0.14.10" "pytest>=8.0" boto3 defusedxml Pillow feedparser mutagen numpy opencv-python-headless
+        run: python -m pip install "ruff==0.16.10" "pytest>=8.0" boto3 defusedxml Pillow feedparser mutagen numpy opencv-python-headless
 
       # resolve_font's Linux fallbacks are DejaVu and Liberation. Installed
       # explicitly rather than assumed from the runner image: which fonts ship in
diff --git a/.pre-commit-config.yaml b/.pre-commit-config.yaml
index e40de2e..cd88673 100644
--- a/.pre-commit-config.yaml
+++ b/.pre-commit-config.yaml
@@ -10,14 +10,14 @@ exclude: '^skills/daily-podcast/refs/'
 
 repos:
   - repo: https://github.com/astral-sh/ruff-pre-commit
-    rev: v0.14.10
+    rev: v0.16.10
     hooks:
       - id: ruff-check
         args: [--fix]
       - id: ruff-format
 
   - repo: https://github.com/pre-commit/pre-commit-hooks
-    rev: v5.0.0
+    rev: v6.0.0
     hooks:
       - id: trailing-whitespace
       - id: end-of-file-fixer
diff --git a/CONTRIBUTING.md b/CONTRIBUTING.md
index 59a2000..dc748d7 100644
--- a/CONTRIBUTING.md
+++ b/CONTRIBUTING.md
@@ -24,7 +24,7 @@ need:
 
 ```bash
 # Tooling only (lint + tests) — works on any platform, no MLX:
-pip install ruff==0.14.10 "pytest>=8.0" boto3
+pip install ruff==0.16.10 "pytest>=8.0" boto3
 
 # Or, for a full editable env on an Apple Silicon Mac:
 pip install -e ".[dev]"
diff --git a/pyproject.toml b/pyproject.toml
index 77e644b..bd0de71 100644
--- a/pyproject.toml
+++ b/pyproject.toml
@@ -50,9 +50,9 @@ video = [
 dev = [
     "pytest>=8.0",
     # ruff is pinned exactly (not a floor) so lint results are reproducible across
-    # local dev, the pre-commit rev (v0.14.10), and CI — a linter's version decides
+    # local dev, the pre-commit rev (v0.16.10), and CI — a linter's version decides
     # pass/fail. Bump all three sites together.
-    "ruff==0.14.10",
+    "ruff==0.16.10",
 ]
 
 [project.urls]
@@ -75,6 +75,12 @@ target-version = "py310"
 # never let a formatter or whitespace rule touch the refs.
 extend-exclude = ["skills/daily-podcast/refs"]
 
+[tool.ruff.format]
+# ruff >= 0.16 also formats Python code blocks inside Markdown. The docs/ plans and
+# specs keep hand-aligned snippets (column-aligned trailing comments), so the format
+# gate stays Python-only, as it was under 0.14.
+exclude = ["*.md"]
+
 [tool.ruff.lint]
 # Small ruleset: pycodestyle (E/W), pyflakes (F), import-sort (I), pyupgrade (UP),
 # bugbear (B). No D (docstrings) — the codebase uses module-level docstrings only.